Bera, Colleagues Introduce Drought Response Legislation with Significant Public Input

Press Release

Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. has joined Congressman Jared Huffman and several other members from California and western states in introducing legislation that will help deal with California's historic drought in a comprehensive way. The Drought Relief and Resilience Act includes feedback from nearly 1,000 Californians from all over the state, including those from cities and rural areas.

The legislation includes both short- and long-term solutions to build new clean water infrastructure in California and expand the water supply, while creating jobs and not undermining environmental safeguards, preempting state laws, or helping one area of the state at the expense of another.

"For the fourth year in a row, drought and dry conditions are hurting many Sacramento County families, small businesses, and farmers," said Bera. "We have to work together to address this growing crisis. That's why I've signed onto this bill with both immediate, emergency help, and a long-term, comprehensive plan for securing water access and storage throughout the state. It adds to our water supply rather than taking from it; it's based on sound science; and it does not put southern water interests ahead of northern. This shouldn't be a partisan issue, or one that pits one region against the other, and it's not a problem that's going away. It impacts us all and I hope my colleagues in both parties and from all parts of the state will do what's right and work together to pass legislation to deal with our drought."

"The drought deserves real solutions, considered in an open debate," said Huffman. "I am grateful to the nearly 1,000 Californians that weighed in on my bill and supplied their ideas, their feedback, and their questions, helping this to be the most open, transparent legislative process we've seen in response to the drought. This is what a serious response to western water and drought looks like. It helps every drought-impacted state and region with critically-needed short-term actions and longer-term solutions to help us through future droughts. It will yield much greater water supply benefits, and make that water available far faster, than other congressional proposals we've seen--especially the secretive House GOP bill which would ignite a water war without any meaningful benefits to most of California. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers of Congress can come together around this bill and ensure our state and the arid American West can get through this drought--together."

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